Wheel bearing issue

[Thelt]

How likely is it that both my rear wheel bearings would be failing? I had the rear passenger side replaced but I still hear a noise. I noticed that if turn left the noise gets worse and if I turn right it goes away.

 

[Blacksheep Josh]

there are rear wheel bearings???

 

[FireSales]

there are rear wheel bearings???

YES! And they are not a cheap item to fix! Just replaced my rear driver side bearing along with new rear brake pads for just under $500!! Now I think I have the front driver side going bad!! It's starting to get the wobbly wheel effect

 

[Cozmik]

Yay!!!! Rears too!!! Just did my fronts for $720!!! Good luck wuth that. Let us know how bad it is.

 

[tower]

How likely is it that both my rear wheel bearings would be failing? I had the rear passenger side replaced but I still hear a noise. I noticed that if turn left the noise gets worse and if I turn right it goes away.

Very likely

 

[tomwom]

I just had my rear passenger side done at the stealership for around $500.00. I won't be going back to them.

Has anyone replaced a rear bearing themselves?

 

[tower]

Its not an easy DIY. Getting the knuckle off is not all the easy but doable. Pressing out the hub and bearing is very difficult/impossible with out a big good press.

 

[jaesto]

Are you sure is the rear bearing. I had the same issue, it made noise when turning the steering wheel left just a little but it went away if kept turning left. It did not make any noise turning right.
I changed the front passenger drive and no change. Then replaced the front driver side and Bingo. It is driving nice now. Paid $117 each at Rockauto.com. It is not an easy job because the bolts holding the hub to the knuckle are very tight and no room to work with. Anyway saved quite a few bucks

 

[Thelt]

I am kinda bummed about the whole thing. I went and looked at just trading it in on a newer car. I hate to do that though. It means going deeper in debt.

The place that did the one wheel bearing for me said that the other one is bad too and that the rear end is making noise as well. I had hoped to keep it until it was paid off but now it is not looking good.

 

[tower]

Fronts are easy to do.

 

[tomwom]

Its not an easy DIY. Getting the knuckle off is not all the easy but doable. Pressing out the hub and bearing is very difficult/impossible with out a big good press.

Do you have to pull the axle?

 

[fixxxer]

This information is from the Ford Service Manual for a 2002 Ford Explorer 4-Door.

Rear Wheel Bearing
REMOVAL AND INSTALLATION

1. Remove the wheel knuckle.

Wheel Knuckle
REMOVAL AND INSTALLATION

CAUTION: Do not loosen the axle wheel hub retainer until the wheel and tire are removed from the vehicle. Wheel bearing damage will occur if the wheel bearing is unloaded with the weight of the vehicle applied.

1. Remove the wheel and tire assembly.

NOTE: Have an assistant press the brake pedal to keep the axle from turning.

2. Remove the nut and washer and discard the nut.

3. Remove the parking brake shoes.

CAUTION: Do not damage the boot while separating the toe link from the knuckle.

4. Remove the nut and bolt and separate the toe link from the wheel knuckle and discard the nut.

CAUTION: Do not damage the boot while separating the ball joint from the knuckle.

5. Remove the nut and bolt and separate the upper ball joint from the wheel knuckle and discard the nut.

CAUTION: Do not use a hammer to separate the outboard CV joint from the hub. Damage to the threads and internal CV joint components may result.

6. Using the special tool, press the outboard CV joint until it is loose from the hub.

7. Remove the nut and bolt and the wheel knuckle, hub and bearing as an assembly and discard the nut.

(Return to)
Rear Wheel Bearing
REMOVAL AND INSTALLATION

2. Remove the three bolts.

CAUTION: Make sure that the press adapter outside diameter is slightly smaller than the hub outside diameter or damage to the knuckle will result.

3. Using a suitable press, remove the hub from the bearing and discard the hub.

NOTE: The retainer ring is tapered and must be installed flat side down.

4. Remove and Discard the retainer ring.

5. Using a suitable press, remove the bearing from the wheel knuckle and discard the bearing.

CAUTION: The hub and bearing cannot be reused after disassembly.

To install, reverse the removal procedure.

 

[tower]

That's pretty close but it does not convey how hard that is and what three bolts? The rear does not have the 3 bolts like the front does.

 

[Thelt]

The shop that did the passenger side said they would do the drivers side for $300 but they warned me that the rear end is making some noise and could potentially be going out.

 

[LXNavajo_94]

if your rear axle is making noise more than likely changing the bearing wont help much. Inmho you would probably come out cheaper buying a used one from your local yard and having it installed or install it yourself.

 

[Thelt]

I just went outside and jacked the wheels off the ground. There is no play on the side they replaced but the other side has some play in it. I guess that is a good sign the wheel bearing is bad? It does not move a lot but enough to tell it is doing it. It is sort of like the lug nuts are not quite tight. I am wondering if it is safe to drive.

 

[just2L]

I had the right rear and the left front go out on my 02 went to the junkyard and got the complete hub assembly ($60 each) from an 05 with 30,000 on it. Paid someone to put them on total cost was $350 for the both of them.

The only issue was the rear hub would not swap out and he had to press the bearings out for the rear. He said the front on took all of 15mins to do. Just a thought but it's been a little over a year now and no problems.

 

[JohnJ]

Just a note of caution for those of you in the rust belt. Sometimes a ring of rust will form holding the bearing into the knuckle. If so, you're likely to need in the excess of 10 tons of force out of your press. If you're having a problem, don't assume you're doing it wrong. Increase the pressure. If that doesn't work, increase the pressure more. If that blows the seal out of the jack, get a bigger jack and/or press.

 

[DavidS]

The only reason I found out my '02 EB was having a problem was the whine at speed that developed and got louder with time. It was almost like a had a set of big mud bogger tires on it. Zing city! I thought the last set of rear tires I'd bought were responsible for the noise. Dealer replaced these along with a solenoid on the transmission under the extended warranty that I'd bought. Seems like I remember the charges back to Ford being almost $900 for these two things. They said the rear wheel bearings were a bear to replace.